Streetlab Blog

The word `ego’ tends to be tagged with negative nuances, but statement fashion brand Egoist sets itself apart from the traditional understanding of the term. Egoist was founded on Freudian philosophy, rather his prominent paper titled `The Ego and the Id’ outlining the concept of ego and egoism, an analytical study of the human psyche.

Egoist founders and husband and wife duo, Vlad and Natalya Levada, evolved upon this concept to create a fashion brand in 2012 that has delivered a `twisted’ and `complex’ design collaboration, focused on quality and affordability.

“The meaning of egoist is “one devoted to one’s own interests” – in this particular instance we were relating to one’s own interests of looking good,” said Vlad.

“The name, although it may sound `negative’ to some people and some may even find it weird, it all has to do with the fact that it’s `ok’ for each and every one (of us) to be an egoist to a certain extent.

“After all, there’s nothing wrong with being devoted to your own interests. And appearance is an important factor of feeling good.”

We caught up with Vlad to explore the inspirations and driving design influences behind the brand; their future plan for global domination; and exhibiting for the first time at Streetlab from August 26-28 at the Australian Technology Park. For more information or to register, visit streetlab.com.au

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Obsessed with finding the perfect handbag, Lani Devine simply started making her own in the spare room.

But soon after, the requests from friends to make custom bags became overwhelming, and in 2009 Lani launched her own accessories brand, Her Royal Flyness.

The brand started out online only with custom one-offs, but demand soon grew and Lani is now taking the brand to the streets.

Described by some as `Ghetto Chanel’, Her Royal Flyness creates high quality products without the stuffiness of older high-end labels.

The name originated from Lani’s vision to create bags that make women feel special as well as the functionality of travel. Her Royal Flyness is a label that’s both high-end in craftsmanship but fun, young and free too.

Lani hopes her bags will be the first thing someone notices as you enter a room, with bold designs that revolve around bold colours and durable fabrics.

See the complete collection at Streetlab on 14 & 15 August at the Australian Technology Park. Vist streetlab.com.au for more information.

Looking for a classic shoe design with a twist? Introducing unisex shoe label, Rollie Nation.

With a universal desire for `youthful, good old-fashioned fun’, footwear guru Vince Lebon kicked off the new shoe style in 2011, offering a fresh take on established favorites. With nine years in the footwear industry, Lebon has used his artistic background and global experience to create the freshest takes on classic styles.

The Derby, Chukka and Boxer shoes are all based on well-loved designs with a loud Rollie splash of colour and unique white accents. While colour is definitely a highlight of the collection, it’s the lightweight design that truly defines Rollie. For women and men, these iconic styles can go anywhere and do anything.

Vince was inspired by the idea of making lightweight, colorful shoes that you never want to take off. The signature white stitching, laces and outsole contrast with big colours and simple design.

“Living life in lightweight style with a signature twist is what makes a life full of colour. Life demands colour, function and style.”

To see the full range, visit Rollie Nation at Streetlab this August 14 & 15 at the Australian Technology Park. For more information or to register, visit streetlab.com.au

Vintage, unique, timeless and versatile – these are just some of the key words being thrown around to describe new men’s footwear label, December Forever. Only in production for the past year, the brand finally found its feet when head designer, Leigh Cartwright realised that the kind of shoes he was after for himself, just weren’t available. Soon after he designed and sampled a couple of pairs for himself to wear, and he was overwhelmed with requests from friends.

“I soon realised that my shoes could be seen as a point of difference in today’s footwear market,” said Leigh.

While the Melbourne-based brand is inspired by classic style, Leigh has successfully created a fusion between the past and the present allowing many generations who missed out on those forgotten styles to now relive those days through the world of fashion.

“Having an interest for all things vintage I actually source my inspiration from the movies and music I watch and listen to mainly focused on era’s from the 70’s 80’s and 90’s,” he said. “Although a lot of fashion from these eras is recreated to fit today’s market I feel there is still so much more to give for people to reconnect with.”

Read our chat with Leigh where he reveals his design process; his love for summer holidays that inspired the December Forever name; and showing his range at Streetlab on August 14 & 15 at the Australian Technology Park.

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After working as a designer for a Sydney-based shoe manufacturing company, James Noakes founded his own brand Mere in 2009. Initially a creative side project in his spare time, James worked for a year on styles and sampling before eventually taking the leap of faith to leave his job and launch Mere’s first season, spring summer 2012.

Sourcing leathers and material is the biggest influence for Noakes, who is really hands on with the finishes and textures of the hand crafted label. He sources new looks and ideas each season and always leaves the market with a bag full of swatches and a head full of ideas.

“Sourcing is something we have to do for each season but whether I am designing a range or not, it’s such a good way to get ideas flowing and find myself consistently rummaging through markets to find something that sets the light bulb off,” he says.

The shoes are manufactured in Vietnam and Mere pride themselves on being `hands on’ at every step of the process from dying the leathers to overseeing the last stitch, ensuring quality and individualism in the shoes they produce.

“Mere does not believe in mass production as our customers are not mass produced. Our motto is simple:

Mere shoes can’t help you fly, or live underwater.
Our shoes can’t bring world peace, or stop famine.
They can’t take you back in time & they won’t help you find love, or a cheeky one night stand.
Our shoes simply are what they are…… Mere shoes.”

Streetlab Blog recently spoke with Noakes to chat more on what sets off the `light bulbs’; how he brings that creative process to the drawing board; and his humble reasoning behind the name Mere.

Here is a sneak peek of the Mere `Through the Trees’ AW12 collection which they will showcase at Streetlab this August 14 & 15 at the Australian Technology Park.

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